A deflating day for Halfords shares as margins are squeezed November 10, 2016 Shares in Halfords flopped five per cent today after revealing half-year profits had fallen by 12 per cent. While the car parts and bikes retailer announced that revenues had increased by six per cent, gross margins – the amount of profit it makes from every item sold – at its retail outlets fell sharply. Read [...]
Newly appointed night czar Amy Lamé hits the Piccadilly line Night Tube for the first of her night surgeries December 16, 2016 The mayor's first night czar starts a pet project of her own tonight. Amy Lamé, who was announced by the mayor last month as night czar, is launching the very first of her night surgeries – where she'll meet the capital's nightlife lovers and night-time workers to find out just what they want to see from [...]
Bath back attacking rugby brand to win over Londoners at Twickenham for Leicester Tigers fixture September 22, 2016 Bath believe that their exciting brand of rugby will attract Londoners to Twickenham for a meeting with old rivals Leicester Tigers in April next year. The 151-year-old club are relocating to the capital’s iconic 82,000 stadium for the 8 April Premiership fixture against the Tigers in a bid to engage with rugby fans beyond the borders [...]
Over a quarter of senior staff fancy a try at something new September 27, 2016 Some of the country's most senior workers wish they had sought out pastures new, figures out today show. Over a quarter (29 per cent) of senior decision makers surveyed by McDonald's UK would consider changing career in the next five years, while just less than half (43 per cent) of managing directors are pondering a second [...]
Not lovin’ it: Standard & Poor’s downgrades McDonald’s over debt plans November 10, 2015 Fast food giant McDonald's has been downgraded by ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P), after announcing plans to increase debt in order to return $10bn (£6.6bn) of cash to investors by the end of 2016. S&P has lowered the firm's credit rating to BBB+ from A, “since the company's various credit metrics will now be [...]
Aston Martin Vanquish S review: Lotus steal Matt Becker has transformed this model from glitzy to genius January 3, 2017 To make Aston Martin’s new models drive as beautifully as they look, CEO Dr Andy Palmer went to the company that makes some of the best-handling cars in the world: Lotus. There, he hired a genius called Matt Becker, who’s already helped deliver the divine new DB11. Now the first of Aston’s existing cars to [...]
Fast food chains Domino’s and McDonald’s could have lessons for other retailers November 11, 2015 How do you get stuff to people? This seemingly straightforward question poses a dilemma that continues to bamboozle retail executives throughout the world. While many of us are fascinated by products of the future – driverless cars, 3D printers, the internet of things – an equally significant challenge lies in how to bring today’s goods [...]
EU responds to US treasury complaints over commission investigation into tax arrangements August 25, 2016 The EU has brushed off complaints from the US Treasury about its investigations into tax deals between companies like Apple and McDonald's and member states. The US Treasury published a white paper yesterday in which it attacked the EU's tax probes, arguing that they will create an "unfortunate" precedent in international tax policies and leave [...]
An embarrassment, a bailout and a failing franchise: Politicians blast Southern’s £20m funding deal September 1, 2016 Politicians from City Hall, the House of Commons and the House of Lords have blasted £20m of new funding for Southern Rail, announced earlier today. The Department for Transport (DfT) revealed the cash as part of a package of measures to improve performance on the lines. It will also see the appointment of a new project [...]
“A slippery slope to privatisation”: Network Rail shake-up draws mixed reactions December 6, 2016 Chris Grayling's plans to shake-up Network Rail's monopoly on track maintenance have already caused quite the stir. Service operators will be given a role in managing the tracks and Grayling wants the firms operating services to form a joint management team with bosses from state-owned Network Rail. He said on BBC's Today programme that he [...]